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Another dish that I saw a lot in Greece was pastitsio. Pastitsio is a Greek layered baked pasta dish that is similar to a lasagna though instead of using flat noodles it uses long tubular noodles. The pastitsio that I saw in Greece was all made with layers of a meat sauce along with the layers of pasta and covered with a layer of bechamel sauce. When I got back the first place that I looked for a recipe for pastitsio was in my collection of bookmarks and I had this recipe for a pastitsio with greens from Mediterranean Cooking In Alaska bookmarked. This "greens" version is made with layers of green leafed vegetables like spinach and chard instead of a meat sauce. Although I had been looking forward to trying a pastitsio with a meat sauce with a touch of cinnamon in it my current obsession with chard made this version irresistible. With the dill and feta in addition to the spinach and chard this recipe seems a lot like a pasta version of a spinach pie.

Normally I like to write that a recipe was quick and simple but this one actually took a bit of time and effort. You have to cook the pasta, wilt the spinach and chard, mix the filling, make the bechamel sauce, assemble and then bake it. It is not difficult but it does require a bit of effort and it dirties a lot of dishes. I did run into one problem with this recipe and that was that there was simply too much to fit into the baking pan. It was not too much of a problem as I ended up with nice and thick layers of greens, just the way that I wanted it. The pastitsio with greens turned out great! I liked everything about it from the crispy panko topping to the creamy bechamel sauce to the thick layers of greens all sandwiched between thin layers of whole wheat pasta. Dill is one of my favorite herbs and it really made this dish amazing. All said and done, this pastitsio with greens may have been a bit of work and clean up but it was so worth it!

Note: I had to let it cool for a long time to be able to cut the nice straight edges for the slice in the photo.

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta as directed on package.
2. Blanch the spinach and chard and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and drain.
3. Heat he oil in a pan.
4. Add the onions, salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Mix the spinach, chard, onions, green onions, dill, parsley, mint, feta, fontina and ricotta in a large bowl. ( I found that using my hands worked best.)
7. Warm the milk but do not boil.
8. Melt the butter in a sauce pan.
9. Mix in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
10. Whisk in the milk and cook until it thickens.
11. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
12. Pour 1/2 cup of the bechamel into the pasta and mix.
13. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl.
14. Temper the egg yolks with some of the warm bechamel sauce and then mix them into the rest of the sauce.
15. Cook for 2 minutes on low while stirring.
16. Mix the parmesan and the panko bread crumbs.
17. Place 1/2 of the pasta into the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish.
18. Spread 1/2 of the filling on top of the pasta.
19. Place remaining pasta on top.
20. Spread the remaining filling on top of the pasta.
21. Spread the bechamel over the filling.
22. Sprinkle the parmesan and panko over the top.
23. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 30-50 minutes.
24. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

I'm always looking for more ways to get my greens and this recipe looks amaaaazing.! I think I'll try out a gluten free/vegan adaptation. Nothing like pasta, greens, and creamy sauce to make this lady happy:)

OMG!! I made the meat sauce version a couple of weeks ago, and it was just awesome! No doubt that the green makes yours really pretty! And your straight edges are astonishing - I just heap it out with a giant serving spoon.

What a great idea! I would never have thought of layering pasta tubes to make a lasagne. Brilliant and this one sounds utterly delicious! Lasagne always seems to take a lot of preparation, but it is so worth it :)

Your food creations are amazing...I adore visiting your blog...so many temptations and not enough waistline to accommodate the outcome if I tried everything you posted. But this...its calling my name. YUM.

I just had lasanga for dinner last night. I really enjoy almost any lasanga. This greek version looks so good. Great photo as well, I know that lasanga can be hard to get a good picture of but you pulled it off to perfection!

Okay, Kevin. . .I was wary when you said making this dirtied up a lot of dishes. But I'm willing to give it a try, since you said it was worth it. That, and the picture does indeed look worth it yummy!

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.